Can-soldering machine.



i w. CAMERON. CAN SOLDERING NIACHiNE. APPLICAUON FILED DEC.10, 1913.

Patented Apr. 24

3 SHEETS-*SHEH 1.

CAMERON.-

CAN SOLDEHING MACHINE. f .i APPLICATION FILEp 0m10.191s. 152253,557. Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

3 SHEETS-.SHEET 2 w W W Y ZZFQ HIM . W an v w. CAIIIEROIL` y I CAN SOLDEHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I0. ISIS.

'Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

3 SHEETS*SHEET 3.

||||||||||III UNITED sTATEs WILLIAM CAMERON,

or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAN-SOLDEEING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2.4, 1917'.

v Application led December 10, 1913. Serial No. 805,686.

To 'all whom z'tjnay concern:

` tion.

. l and provide novel and improved lbe used Be it known that I, a citizen of the United Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Soldering Machinos, of which the following is a specifica- WILLIAM CAMERON, States, reslding at This invention relates in general tosoldari ing machines and has more particular reference to side seam soldering mechanism to as accessory to Or in conjunction with a lock seam machine.

In the manufacture of tin cans, to be used for canning vegetables, fruits.v and the like,

the can bodies are first formed from a sheetv of metal, the edges of which are secured t gether by a. lock seam in a lock seaming machine. In Order to produce an air tight can it is essential that this lock seam be soldered, my present invention is designed to mechanism .for

soldering this side seam.

Prior to my invention the soldering mechn anism has comprised a long horn or guide upon which the can bodies were received as they were delivered from the lock seamer, this horn bein constructed to fit the interior of the can boies so that it would guide the cans as they were conveyed through the' machine past the acid bath, the soldering device andthe surplus solder remover. Because of the danger of the formation of poisonous acids from direct contact of fruits or vegetables with tin it isnow customary to enamel or shellac the interior .of the can bodies so that the can contents are precluded from contacting directly with the tin. The enameling is done Before the can bodies are formed with the result that the bodies are` enameled on the inside when they reach the side seam soldering mechanism. It frequently happens that in the passage of vthe bodies through this mechanism the horn projecting through the bodies andupon which the bodies are guided breaks the enamel or Furthermore, the acid bath,'from which acid 'cation of the solder,

is applied to the seam previous to the appliis mounted directly beneathv the horn and upon the horn with theresult that more or the'acid fumes collect soldering mechanisms above noted, by pro- .riding a horn which contacts with the eXteriors only of the can bodies so that the enamel on the inside is not cracked, scraped or injured in any manner and no acid is transferred to the interiors ofthe cans pass- `ing through the machine.

AnotherV object of the invention is the provision of .improved mechanism for conveying the cans through the machine and for holding them against turning movement during their travel. A further object is the provision of mechanism for releasing the vcans from the conveyor mechanism at the delivery end of the machine sothat the cans will not be injured or distorted before deliverance.

Other objects advantages of this lnvention will be apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. Referring to the drawings, 1 A

Figure yl is a plan viewof a soldering machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.;

ig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line .3-3ofFig.1;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the rear end of the machine; y

Fig. 5 is a side view of one of the hornholders taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the delivery end of the machine;

Fig. is a. sectional view through one of the chain carriers, showing a face view of one of the gripping devices, and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 7. i

On the drawings reference character 9 indicates the base of the'machine, provided with a plurality of uprights or standards 11 upon whichl the various operating mechanisms to behereinafter described are carried. The can bodies are fed to the left handv ,end of the machine, viewing Figs. 1 a'nd 2, preferably directly from thev lock seamer, and are conveyed past the acid anplier, the soldering device, the surplus solder ifter the surplus solder is removed the can remover and the coolingappliance, by transis cooled for the purpose, first, of setting the ferr-ing mechanism acting in conjunction solder, and second, to render the can cool with a guiding horn of novel construction, enough to be handled, by means o f a perboth of which will be hereinafter described forated cooling pipe 45 connected with a fan in detail. For the present it is sufficient to' or other air blast (notshowny. say that the horn, which is designated gen- Instead of employing a guidmghorn erally by reference character 12, comprises which enters the lnterior of the can, as has a plurality ot' parallel rods, or guiding membeen previously done, I have devised and bers, 13 extending throughout the length of have equipped my machine with a novel the machine and directly above the various horn which will now be described. At inappliances ivhich operate upon the cans as tervals upon the frame of the machine I have they travel through the horn. mounted holders, as shown in Fig). 5, each The machine is operated from a suitable comprising a lower portion 46 olted or sonne of power which is connected by a otherwise secured to the horizontally extendbelt or chain to the main drive shaft 14 exing portion l? of the main frame, and an uptending transversely ofthe machine at the per portion 48 secured by bolts 49 or otherfront end ther-ect. The can bodies are fed wise to the lower portion. Both portions of to the machine endwise, with the lock seam the holders are equipped vvith sockets 51 down, and are irst subjected to an applicaadapted to receive and support the rods "13 tion of acid along the seam by means of a which are held in position in the various rotary vvheel 15 carried upon a suitable shaft sockets by set screws 59.. l These rods, four 1G and partially submerged in acid conof which are shown in the present instance, tained in a tank 17 supported upon a bracket although a greater or less number may be 1S which is adjustably carried by one of the used as desired, are spaced apart vto accomuprights 11 ot' the main frame vand may be inodate a can body '53 between them and to adjusted vertically to accommodate the firmly contact with the periphery' of such wheel to cans of various sizes by means of can bodies as the cans travel `longitudinally an adjusting screw 19. The shaft 16 is through the horn. By this improved horn driven in the direction of travel of the cans the can bodies are supported and guided durby a cross belt 21 trained around pulleys 22 ing their travel through the machine wholly and Q3 fixed on the shafts 14 and 16 refrom the outside, so that there is no danger pectively, a suitable belt tightener 24 being or liability of cracking, scraping or otheren'iployed to maintain the desired tension on wise injuring the enamel on the inside of the the belt if required. bodies. It will be observed from Fig. 5

A. longitudinally extending counter shaft that the holder is formed at each side to ro- 25 mounted in suitable bearings is driven vide a pocket or race-way 54 through w ich from the shaft 14 through the bevel gears 26. the chain carriers or conveyers 55 are adapt- This shaft is equipped with a sprocket Wheel ed to travel. Since the conveyors, as will 27 which through a. chain 2S, drives a be evident from Figs. 1 and 2, do not exsprocket Wheel Q9 tired on the soldering roll tend entirely tothe receiving end of the 3l mounted beneath the horn and adapted to horn, the holder 56, as best shown in Fig. 3, be rotated in a bath of molten solder which does not have any pocket or race-way and is is maintained in molten condition by suitsimply employed to maintain the ends of the able gas burners 32 ted from a gas pipe33. horn rods 13in proper relation. 4 This soldering roll, which may be of any The endless chain conveyers 55, of which Well known or preferred construction, is two are shown, are trained over idler adapted to a A ply a thin film of solder to the sprockets 57 at the feed end of the machine` seam of caca can body as the can travels and over drive sprockets 58 at the delivery along in proximity to or in contact with the end of the machine, the carriers being suproll., ported intermediate their ends by idlers 59 ri`he surplus solder adhering to the can maintained upon the ends of adjustable arms body after leaving the soldering roll is re- (5l carried by the main frame. The drive moved by a brush or faced roller 34% mounted sprockets 58 are mounted on the upper ends in a. bracket 35 supported on an upright 11 of vertical shafts 62 (Figi-1) which are and adjustable to' cans of various sizes by means of a screw 3G. This brush or roller is rotated in a. direction opposite to the direction of travel of the cans and the surplus solder removed by the brush is deposited in a receptacle 3T. The roller 34 .is driven by means ot' a belt 3S from a pulley 39 mounted on a shaft e1., which in turn is driven bye' chain i2 from a cross shaft driven from" driven through the intermediary of bevel gears 63 from a cross shaft 64 which in turn is driven by a chain 60 from the cro shaft 43, Since the sprockets 5S are bot-h driven at the same speed it will be manifest that the conveyers 55 will both travel in unison and at the same speed.

In order that the convcyers may engage e rwith the can bodies to convey them along t the shaft 25 by means of beveled gears 44. hoi-n1 have mounted upon each conveyer at 130 the conveyer. the cans against rotation during their travel jaw 69 is extendingv predetermined intervals tails offfvhich are best shown in Figs. Tand 8. As :will be evident from these figures 'each gripper comprises a stationary jaw 66 having outstanding lugs 67 betweenwhi'ch is pivotally mounted on a pin 68 a movable jaw 69. The front ends of these jaws are inclined to provide a tapered slot 7l into body prowhich the rear edge of the can jects as the gripper is brought into operative relation therewith upon movement of In order togassist the horn the movable through with a downwardly provided shoulder 72 which, when engaged by the rear are held against rotation so that edge of the can body, causes thev jaw 69 to rock on its pivot andlclamp the can lirmly between the movable and stationary jaws. F rom liig Y it will be observed that the stationa'ry jaw is provided with a groove 73 so that the can body is gripped by the edges or sides of the jaws only, thereby providing two points of engagement between each gripper and the can which securely holds the can against rotation without bending'or distorting'the can.. It will be evident, there- `fore, that as the can bodies are fed into the horn they are engaged in succession by the gi pers on the conveyers and are transported through the horn over the various' mechanisms and at the same time the lock seam will be at the bottom ,to receive the various operations to which it is subjected.

It will be manifest from Fig that when operating the grlppersreaeh the delivery end of the horn they pass around the drive' sprockets` 58. and return to the feed end ofthe 1nachine outside the horn. In order to vrelease the cans from the grippersso that the cans will not be torn or bent by the'separation of vof grippers as they travel around the pairs tre sprockets, I Vhave provided vmeans for disengaging the cans from the grippers before the arcuate movement of the grippers occurs. This means comprises in the present instance an arm F4 Jfastened on each shaft 62 andl of suliicient length to project beyond the conveyer chains into 'of cans in the horn. The circumt'erencgt of each sprocket Wheel 58 is equal to thedistance between the successive grippers on the chain' s that a can is delivered at each rotation "Qi the shaft-s By adjusting the chains on the sprocket wheels when the machine is assembled so that the .arm 74- will bear a predetermined relation to the grip-y pers on the chains, as 'shown in Fig. 6, the

arms will be brought into engagement with the rear ends of the can bodies 53 Just as a 'pair of grippers is approaching a sprocket a gripper 65, the' de 'pers on the chains.

in holding seems preferable it the path of travel travel around the sprockets,1thereby releas-y ing the cans and injury by' the grippers. If preferred the arms 74 may be adjustably mounted on the shafts 62 so that they can requisite position with respect to the grip? When the can bodies are released from the grippers they are discharged from the delivery end of the horn. The can'bodies when delivered are, by reason of the air blast delivered from the cooling pipe 45, sufficiently cooled to be handled and the solder is thoroughly set. l.

My invention and its mode of operation should be fully understood from the foregoing without further description and while I have illustrated and described that embodiment of my invention which at present will be obvious that the mechanical details disclosed are capable of considerable variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacri icing any of. its material advantages.

I claim:

l. In a can soldering machine, the combination of a frame, a can supporting and guiding horn comprising a plurality of parallel members adapted to engage the eX- teriors of the cans, mechanism for conveying the cans through said horn, and an'arm rotatable about a fixed pivotal axis for positively discharging the cans from said mechanism at the delivery end of the horn.

2.' lu a can soldering machine, the combination of a horn conveyer mechanism yfor conveying cans along said'horn, said mechanism including a series of can gripping de# vices, andan arm rotatable about a yfixed pivotal axis at the discharge end of said horn for positively discharging the cans from said devices. y

3. In a can soldering machine, the combination of a horn, an endless conveyer, means carried by said conveyer in position to engage a can and convey the same along the horn, and arms rotatable about fixed pivotal axes and intermittently projected into the path of travel ofthe cans for positively discharging the cans from opposite sides of said pathV from said conveyer.

4. In a can soldering machine, the combination of a guiding horn, conveyer mechanism for conveying cans longitudinally of said horn, and arms rotatable about iiXed pivotal axes on opposite sides of said guiding horn for from said conveyer mechanism at the delivery end of the horn. 5. In a can soldering- Inachine, the combination of a horn, a sprocket Wheel mounted .adjacent each end of said horn, a chain conveyer trained over said sprocket Wheel to travel adjacent to said horn, can engaging means carried by said chain, and a device be adjusted to the 'i positively discharging the cans mounted eoneentrically with the sprocket wheel at the delivery end of the horn adapted to positively discharge the cans from said can engaging means.

(3. In a can soldering machine, the combination of a horn, a sprocket wheel mounted adjacent each end of said horn, a chain conveyer trained over said sprocket Wheels to travel adjacent to said horn7 can engaging means carried by said chain, and an arm mounted concentrieally with the rear sprocket wheel to engage with the rear edge of a can at each rotation of the sprocket wheel whereby said cans are released from said conveyer mechanism.

7. In a can soldering machine, the combination of a guiding horn, mechanism for conveying cans through said horn, and arms rotatable about fixed pivotal axes on 0pposite sides of said guiding horn synehronously with the movement of the cans `for 'positively discharging the cans from saidA eonveyer mechanism at the delivery end of the horn.

8. In a can soldering machine, the combination of a horn, a pair of shafts mounted adjacent the delivery end of the horn, sprocket wheels fixed on said shafts, chains trained over said Wheels, gripper devices carried by said chains to engage with and propel cans through the horn, and 'arms fixed on said shafts adapted to engage with the rear end of a can upon each rotation of said shafts whereby to release the can from said gripper devices.

WILLIAM CAMERON.

lVitnesses:

IRA J. WILSON, M. A. KIDDIE. 

